1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is generally in the field of electronic circuits and systems. More specifically, the present invention is in the field of control circuitry.
2. Background Art
High-current circuit blocks, such as microprocessors, may suffer from power dissipation and noise due to high inrush currents. When a high-current circuit block transitions from an inactive state to an active state, for example, a large transient input current (known as an inrush current) can spike as the internal capacitances of the circuit absorb electrical energy. The inrush current may be many times greater than the steady-state current, for example. Inrush currents may adversely affect the robustness and voltage droop of a high-current circuit block. Inrush currents may also dissipate unwanted amounts of power and damage internal circuit components.
Efficiently controlling inrush currents into high-current circuit blocks has presented many problems. For example, external analog control circuits have proven impractical to fabricate and package with high-current circuit blocks. Moreover, conventional control circuits that have implemented sequentially activated switch pairs (sometimes known as mother-daughter configurations) may be too insensitive to adequately mitigate the problems caused by inrush currents.
Accordingly, there is a need to overcome the drawbacks and deficiencies in the art by providing a sensitive and efficient control circuit to control inrush currents that flow into a high-current circuit block. Moreover, the control circuit should be compatible with existing semiconductor manufacturing and packaging technology.